At the age of only 28 years and seven months, Junaid Ahmed Palok of Singra upazila in Natore district took oath with Awami League president Sheikh Hasina as the youngest parliamentarian of the ninth Jatiya Sangsad on January 3, the first day of oath-taking ceremony of MPs (Member of the Parliament).

On an Awami League ticket, Palok contested the December 29 parliamentary poll from Natore-3 constituency and defeated his nearest rival Kazi Golam Morshed of BNP by a margin of 49,944 votes.

He bagged 1,27,987 votes while Morshed, who won the seat of the Jatiya Sangsad for three consecutive terms, polled only 78,043 votes in the election this time.
Born in a middle-class Muslim family in Chalon Beel area under Singra upazila on May 17 in 1980, Palok obtained LLB degree from Dhaka National Law College in 2000 and secured post-graduation degree in political science appearing from Dhaka College in 2002.

He was the vice-president of Singra Government College Students Union and was discharging his responsibilities as the organising secretary of Singra upazila unit Awami League since 2002.

Talking to this correspondent prior to the meeting of Awami League Parliamentary Party (ALPP), which was held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with party president Sheikh Hasina in the chair on January 3 after the first day's oath taking ceremony of the new parliamentarians, Palok said he assured his constituents that he would engage all his efforts for resolving the age-old water-logging problem in Chalon Beel area.

Besides, he added that setting up of agro-based industries ensuring easy availability of agriculture-inputs to the farmers and employment generation for the youth in his constituency would be his other priorities.

A delighted Palok said, "With the blessings of our leader Sheikh Hasina I got the party ticket to contest the polls as the people of the constituency staged even fasting demonstration for a couple of days in front of Sudha Sadan for my candidature. I have to honour my commitments given to my voters at any cost."
Married in the year 2002, Palok is the proud father of a four-year-old son.